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The Orioles bailed out Dean Kremer tonight, which was the first order of business. Battle back twice to tie. Conclude his frustrating night with no decision. Try to win a game in the series and go for the split on Sunday.
They couldn’t complete the mission.
Christian Walker hit a two-run homer off left-hander Dietrich Enns in the seventh inning and the Astros hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 30,159 at Camden Yards.
Walker mashed a changeup 414 feet to left field with two outs, extending his home run streak to three games in a row. The Orioles (59-70) have lost three straight after winning six of seven. They didn't lose their 70th last year until Sept. 22.
Jeremiah Jackson hit his first major league home run in the fourth inning, a 439-foot shot to center field that reduced the lead to 7-6. Colton Cowser followed his two-run single in the first with a solo homer in the fifth off AJ Blubaugh that knotted the score.
Cowser has homered in back-to-back games for the sixth time in his career.
Samuel Basallo doubled to center field at 112.1 mph, his first hit since signing his eight-year extension, but he was stranded.
Jackson hopes to retrieve the home run ball and give it to his grandfather. He's batting .339 with an .853 OPS and giving the Orioles a reason to consider him for a super-utility job next season.
"It’s been a fun experience," he said. "A lot of hard work to get here, and then even more harder work just being up here. But like I’ve said before, it’s a really good group of guys. It’s fun showing up here every day trying to get better, trying to learn from everybody, and just going out there and playing.
"It’s been a long journey to be able to be up here, and to have some success in the short time I’ve been here, it’s been awesome. It’s been fun."
"I like him," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "It’s very first-pitch oriented. I think as he and Basallo kind of settle into the big leagues here, the overly aggressive first-pitch thing, they’ll have to settle in on that a little bit. You can’t have that many guys like that in the lineup. You can have one or two, but for nine guys to string it together, you cannot swing first pitch every at-bat. I think both of them look good right now, but I think at some point, too, we’ve got to start seeing the ball a little bit and not be so auto-swing 0-0 every single night, every single at-bat."
Jackson singled to score Dylan Beavers in the eighth and get the Orioles within a run. Beavers doubled and is batting .333 with a 1.026 OPS in seven games. He set the club record by reaching base 15 times in that span.
Kremer was charged with six earned runs and seven total in five innings and came out after 75 pitches. He surrendered three home runs in the first.
The reversal from his last start could cause whiplash. Kremer shut out the Astros over seven innings in Houston, but he was down 5-0 tonight after facing six batters. He retired only one.
"That’s one of the scheduling challenges everyone has to face," Kremer said. "Did earlier this year with the Twins, back-to-back starts. But this is the toughest league there is and it’s hard to sneak things by them after they’ve seen you three times in a day. It’s hard to surprise them again.”
Jeremy Peña drew a leadoff walk and Carlos Correa launched a sinker 391 feet to left field at 106.5 mph. Jesús Sánchez came to the plate with one out and drilled a curveball 429 feet to right-center at 111 mph. Walker singled and Victor Caratini jumped on a splitter, his two-run shot also going to right-center.
Former Oriole Ramón Urías lined to deep left-center at 107.2 mph. Jose Altuve lined to left field in the fifth at 110.6.
The Astros had rolled out the barrels.
"Just some bad pitches in that first inning over the middle part of the plate," Mansolino said. "Wasn’t sharp. The one two-run homer there to Correa, his back foot slipped kind of in the delivery going off the mound. It was an 87 mph sinker, it was it kind of was, and we know that’s not Dean. It’s usually 92, 93, and looking at the video he definitely slipped a little bit."
"Yeah, I slipped on the Correa one, but they jumped me a little bit there," Kremer said. "They were more aggressive at balls in the zone, and I made a couple mistakes to some good hitters and they’re one of the hottest teams hitting right now.”
Kremer tied his career high with the three homers. Tonight marked the first time they were bundled in one inning.
"You got to give those hitters credit over there, man," Mansolino said. "Every mistake that we made, they hit it over the fence.”
Cristian Javier lasted only three innings in his previous start against the Orioles due to an illness. He responded to a five-run lead in the first by walking Jackson Holliday and Jackson, and Gunnar Henderson’s bouncer sneaked into center field.
Henderson stole second base and Cowser lined a two-run single into right. The Orioles were down 5-3 and the Astros already had a reliever throwing.
The inning lasted 29 minutes. It felt twice as long.
Kremer made quick work of the Astros in the second, and the Orioles threatened in the bottom half after Beavers reached on an error and stole his first major league base and Vimael Machín drew a 10-pitch walk. Henderson walked with two outs to load the bases and Ryan Mountcastle lined a two-run single into center field for a 5-5 tie.
Javier’s pitch count was 65 as he made a slow walk back to the dugout. He shared the same pace as the game.
It didn’t stay level for long. Altuve singled to lead off the third and Sánchez took a big swing at a splitter and punched it inside third base for a 54.4 mph double. Kremer got a strikeout and a ground ball, but Altuve broke for home and dived across the plate, and Sánchez followed him after Coby Mayo’s throw in the dirt bounced off Altuve’s foot and rolled toward the backstop.
"Like I said against the Phillies, it’s being able to give up a handful of runs or a few runs early and still being able to go at least five or six," Kremer said. "Definitely means a lot to me as a starting pitcher, being able to eat innings and continue to give the team an opportunity to win, because they did a phenomenal job digging out of that hole.”
Kremer had a long conversation with Basallo on the walk back to the dugout after the third and there was another exchange after the next inning as they approached the top step.
“That’s the first time I’ve thrown to him in a real game," Kremer said. "Spring training doesn’t really count. I think I threw to him once there. But it was our first time working together and he’s gonna be here for a while, so I’m sure there’s gonna be some learning curve. But you miss pitches down the middle and you get hurt, and that’s on me. That’s not on him.”
Mansolino read the situation as Kremer being frustrated with himself and said, “I was watching him, actually, and that’s kind of Dean normally. You go back and look at his last game when he threw seven scoreless, he interacts the same way with everybody. I watched it, I saw it, it’s very normal interactions for Dean, whether he’s pitching good or really bad. It’s just Deano.”
* Hall of Famer Jim Palmer threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Cade Povich. Holliday received his Heart and Hustle Award.
* Ike Irish, the Orioles’ first pick in this year’s draft and their No. 2 prospect, fouled two pitches off the same spot on his right shin and was removed as a precaution with a bruise.
Jorge Mateo had two hits in another rehab game with Triple-A Norfolk. Liván Soto hit a three-run walk-off homer. Cody Poteet, beginning his rehab assignment, retired the side in order in the fifth.
Creed Willems hit his 15th home run for Double-A Chesapeake. Juaron Watts-Brown allowed two runs and three hits with four walks, four strikeouts and two homers in 4 1/3 innings.
